Big Ticket Item Orders Fall

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Every bit of data these days concerning the economy is being analyzed to see if any good news can be gleamed, or if a constant stream of bad news will continue because of the credit crisis that has been gripping consumers and companies alike.

The Commerce Department reported Thursday that orders for durable goods dropped 1.7 percent last month following an even bigger 5.3 percent plunge in August. It marked the first back-to-back declines in more than a year and took economists by surprise. They had forecast new orders would rebound by 1.5 percent in September.

The September drop reflected weakness in such areas as autos, fabricated metals, computers and electronics products, and electrical appliances.

The decline in manufacturing orders followed several other reports showing economic weakness, including continued steep slides in sales of existing homes and reports from banks and investment houses that they were having to take big write-offs due to losses in such areas as mortgage-backed securities.

It seems relatively obvious that certain products like “electrical appliances” are being directly affected by the slump in sales of new homes, whereas other ones like “autos” are being affected by the contraction of “easy money” through credit. As the consumer has slowed down spending, companies that rely on him are being hurt bad.

Just some more data to mull over as you consider what investments to make.

If you enjoyed this post, subscribe to the Superior Investor Blog RSS feed!.